What Are Basic English

Grammar Rules?
Basic English Grammar Rules
Some of the most basic and important English grammar rules relate
directly to sentence structure. Some of these rules specify that:

A singular subject needs a singular predicate.

A sentence needs to express a complete thought.

Another term for a sentence is an independent clause.

Clauses, like any sentence, have a subject and predicate too. If a

group of words does not have a subject and predicate, it is a
phrase.

If they can stand alone and make a complete thought, then they
are independent and called sentences.

If they do not express a complete thought, they are called

"dependent clauses." An example of a dependent clause, which is
not a sentence, is when i finish my work.
So, what are the other basic rules for sentence structure?

Subjects and Predicates

Basic to any language is the sentence, which expresses a complete
thought and consists of a subject and a predicate.

The subject is the star of the sentence; the person, animal, or

thing that is the focus of it.

The predicate will tell the action that the subject is taking or tell
something about the subject.

Basic Parts of Speech

Once you have a general idea of the basic grammar rules for sentence
structures, it is also helpful to learn about the parts of speech:

A noun names a person, animal, place, thing, quality, idea,

activity, or feeling. A noun can be singular, plural, or show
possession.

A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun, like: I,

you, or they.

A verb shows action and can be a main verb or a helping verb,

like: were or has. Verbs also indicate tense and sometimes
change their form to show past, present, or future tense. Linking
verbs link the subject to the rest of the sentence and examples are:
appear and seem.

An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun. It adds meaning by

telling how much, which one, what kind, or describing it in other
ways.

An adverb will modify a verb and tell more about it, like how
much, when, where, why, or how.

A preposition shows a relationship between nouns or pronouns. It

is often used with a noun to show location, like: beside, in, or
on. It can also show time, direction, motion, manner, reason, or
possession.

Conjunctions connect two words, phrases, or clauses, and

common ones are: and, but, and or.
Mention needs to be made about other types of words that are
considered by some, but not all, to be parts of speech.

One of them is the interjection. It shows emotion and examples

are: yea, hurray, uh-oh, and alas.

Articles are very useful little words that are also sometimes
considered to be parts of speech. The articles are: a, an, and
the. Indefinite articles are a and an and the is a definite
article.

Punctuation
To fully understand basic grammar rules, you also need to look at
punctuation rules.

All sentences must start with a capital, or upper case, letter.

Titles of people, books, magazines, movies, specific places, etc.
are capitalized.

Organizations and compass points are capitalized.

Every sentence needs a punctuation mark at the end of it. These

would include a period, exclamation mark, or question mark.

Colons are used to separate a sentence from a list of items,

between two sentences when the second one explains the first, and
to introduce a long direct quote.

Semicolons are used to take the place of a conjunction and are

placed before introductory words like therefore or however.
They are also used to separate a list of things if there are commas
within each unit.

There are a lot of rules for commas. The basic ones are commas
separate things in a series and go wherever there is a pause in the
sentence. They surround the name of a person being addressed,
separate the day of the month from the year in a date, and
separate a town from the state.

Parentheses enclose things that clarify and enclose numbers and

letters that are part of a list. Apostrophes are used in contractions
to take the place of one or more letters and to show possession. An
apostrophe and s is added if the noun is singular and an
apostrophe alone is added if the noun is plural.
So, now you know some basic grammar rules and you'll be well on your
way to becoming a grammar expert.
You can reach more bravely into the scary world of sentence construction and
accurate communication if you are armed with grammar guidelines. These 11
rules of grammar will help you become a champ at selecting words and
punctuation.

Key Rules
1. Use Active Voice
Every human language starts an active sentence with the subject, or the "doer."
In English, the verb (what's being done) follows the subject. If there is an object
(the receiver of the action), it comes after the verb. The formula looks like this:
S+V+O. This rule is the foundation of the English language.
Here are some examples:

Mary walked the dog.

The dog liked Mary.

I did not like the dog.

2. Link Ideas with a Conjunction

Sometimes you want to link two ideas with a second S+V+O combination. When
you do, you need a coordinating conjunction. The new formula looks like this:
S+V+O, COORDINATING CONJUNCTION+S+V+O
Coordinating conjunctions are easy to remember with an acronymic mnemonic
device:
FANBOYS

For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So

3. Use a Comma to Connect Two Ideas As One

FANBOYS are used when connecting two ideas as one in a single sentence, but
don't forget the comma.
For example:

I do not walk Mary's dog, nor do I wash him.

Mary fed her dog, and I drank tea.
Mary feeds and walks her dog every day, but the dog is still hyperactive.

4. Use a Serial Comma in a List

The serial, or Oxford, comma is a controversial rule of grammar. Some want to
eliminate it altogether while others just don't know how to use it. The serial
comma is the last comma in a list, usually appearing before "and." The serial
comma comes after "dog" in this sentence:

Pets R Us has lizards, dogs, and birds.

Commas separate units in a list. In the above case, each unit only has one part,
so it's easy. Where people get confused is when the units are bigger, but the rule
still applies:
Pets R Us has lizards and frogs, dogs and cats, and parakeets and
macaws.
Notice that the serial comma comes before "and" but not the last "and" in the
sentence. The "and" that follows the comma is only there because it sounds
better. Grammatically, "and" is irrelevant. Only units matter.

5. Use the Semicolon to Join Two Ideas

A list of grammar rules has to include the scariest of punctuation marks. It might
look funny, but don't be afraid of the semicolon; it's the easiest thing in the world
to use! Say you want to join two ideas but can't figure out or can't be bothered to
use a coordinating conjunction. The two ideas can be separate sentences, but
you think that they are so closely connected; they really should be one. Use a
semicolon.

Mary's dog is hyperactive; it won't stop barking or sit still.

My heart is like a cup of Lapsang Souchong tea; it's bitter and smoky.
Mary has to walk her dog every day; it is the most hyperactive dog anyone
has ever seen.

6. Use the Simple Present Tense for Habitual Actions

The simple present is the tense you use for any habitual action. The things you
always do or do every Tuesday are described with the simple present, which just
means you pick the first form of any verb.

Mary likes dogs.

I don't walk Mary's dog.
Mary and I drink tea every Tuesday together.

7. Use the Present Progressive Tense for Current Action

The present progressive tense is for anything that is happening right now. All of
the progressive tenses are easy to spot because their verbs always end with "ing" and get a helping verb. A helping verb is just so we know who and when
we're talking about. In the present progressive, the helping verbs are the present
tense conjugations of "to be."

I am drinking Lapsang Souchong tea.

The barking dogs outside are driving me crazy.
Mary is playing with her hyperactive dog.

8. Add "ed" to verbs for the Past Tense

When we talk about the past, we have to add an "-ed" to regular verbs to make
the second form. Irregular verbs are tricky and have their own sets of rules. Drink,
for example, turns to "drank." Most of the time, though, "-ed" will do.

I drank a lot of Lapsang Souchong tea yesterday, but Mary didn't.

The dogs stopped barking two seconds ago, and I am feeling better.
Mary played fetch with her hyperactive dog.

9-11. Use Perfect Tenses

Practice makes perfect with the perfect tenses. Here are three rules to finish the
11 rules of grammar. If you remember these, you'll be well on your way to
perfection.

9. Use Present Perfect for the Unfinished Past

The present perfect can be confusing for some, but it is one of the most
important rules of grammar. When people talk about things that have already
happened but consider the time in which they occurred to be unfinished, they use
the third form of the verb with a helping verb. The helping verb for the present
perfect is the present tense conjugation of "to have."

I have drunk three cups of Lapsang Souchong tea today.

Mary's hyperactive cur dog has bitten me three times so far.

Mary has walked her hyperactive poodle 100 times this week.
Unfortunately, the only way to know the third forms of verbs is to remember them.

10. Use Present Perfect Progressive for

Unfinished Action and Past
When the action as well as the time is considered unfinished, the verb loads up
on third form helping verbs ("to be" and "to have") and changes to the
progressive form.
Western countries have been waging wars in the Middle East for
thousands of years.

I have been drinking tea all day.

Mary's dog has been barking like crazy since it was born.

11. Use Past Perfect for the First of Two Past

Actions
When two things happen in the past, we have to mark which one happened first.
The one that happened first changes to third form and gets the helping verb,
"had."
By the time I drank one cup of Lapsang Souchong, Mary's dog had barked
a million times.

I had not yet eaten breakfast when Mary walked her dog.

He could not pay for lunch because he had lost his wallet.

Understanding and consistently following the basic English grammar rules will
help you speak and write English correctly and with minimal hesitation.

5 Most Common

Grammatical Errors
Error #1: Run-on Sentence or Comma Splice
A run-on sentence is a sentence that joins two independent clauses
without punctuation or the appropriate conjunction. A comma splice is
similar to a run-on sentence, but it uses a comma to join two clauses
that have no appropriate conjunction.
Fixing a run-on sentence or a comma splice can be accomplished in
one of five different ways:

Separate the clauses into two sentences.

Replace the comma with a semi-colon.
Replace the comma with a coordinating conjunction--and, but,
for, yet, nor, so.

Replace the comma with a subordinating conjunction--after,

although, before, unless, as, because, even though, if, since, until,
when, while.

Replace the comma with a semi-colon and transitional word-however, moreover, on the other hand, nevertheless, instead, also,
therefore, consequently, otherwise, as a result.
For example:

Incorrect: Rachel is very smart, she began reading when she was
three years old.
Correct: Rachel is very smart. She began reading when she was
three years old.
Correct: Rachel is very smart; she began reading when she was
three years old.
Correct: Rachel is very smart, and she began reading when she
was three years old.
Correct: Because Rachel is very smart, she began reading when
she was three years old.
Correct: Rachel is very smart; as a result, she began reading
when she was three years old.

Error #2: Pronoun Errors

Pronoun errors occur when pronouns do not agree in number with the
nouns to which they refer. If the noun is singular, the pronoun must be

singular. If the noun is plural, however, the pronoun must be plural as

well. For example:

Incorrect: Everybody must bring their own lunch.

Correct: Everybody must bring his or her own lunch.

Many people believe that pronoun errors are the result of writers who
are trying to avoid the implication of sexist language. Although this is
an admirable goal, correct grammar is still important.

Error #3: Mistakes in Apostrophe Usage

Apostrophes are used to show possession. However, you do not use an
apostrophe after a possessive pronoun such as my, mine, our, ours,
his, hers, its, their, or theirs. For example:

Incorrect: My mothers cabin is next to his' cabin.

Correct: My mother's cabin is next to his cabin.

In the case of it's, the apostrophe is used to indicate a contraction for it
is. For example:

Incorrect: Its a cold day in October.

Correct: It's a cold day in October.

Error #4: Lack of Subject/Verb Agreement

When speaking or writing in the present tense, a sentence must have
subjects and verbs that agree in number. If the subject is singular, the
verb must be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural
as well. For example:

Incorrect: The recipes is good for beginning chefs.

Correct: The recipes are good for beginning chefs.

Error #5: Misplaced Modifiers

To communicate your ideas clearly, you must place a modifier directly
next to the word it is supposed to modify. The modifier should clearly
refer to a specific word in the sentence. For example:

Incorrect: At eight years old, my father gave me a pony for

Christmas.
Correct: When I was eight years old, my father gave me a pony
for Christmas.